


On Pastries, Panels, and the Cladistics of Pie

by Bhujerban



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Archaeologist!Zelda, Explicit Sexual Content, F/M, alcohol mention, but it's mostly plot!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-15 23:13:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29691384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bhujerban/pseuds/Bhujerban
Summary: Running into someone once is a coincidence, but three times in a day is fate, right? Or it sure feels that way when fledgling Professor Zelda attends a conference at Rito Village and meets Link, a man with a disarming smile, a warm touch, and a propensity for turning up where she is.BoTW ZeLink. Modern AU.
Relationships: Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 37
Kudos: 139





	On Pastries, Panels, and the Cladistics of Pie

**Author's Note:**

> Hi friends! All my conferences were either cancelled or went virtual this year and that made me sad, so I wrote this. Here’s a one shot inspired by something that happened to me at a conference a couple of years ago. Archaeologist!Zelda returns!! A content warning for a smutty middle bit. You can find the censored version on FF.net. 
> 
> Thanks to [Jenseits_der_Sterne](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jenseits_der_Sterne/) for looking this over and especially for helping me with my very first smut scene. Thanks to [SpicyChestnut](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpicyChestnut/pseuds/SpicyChestnut) for being my smutty tags senpai 😂

There were two pastries left in the display cabinet and five people in line in front of her; her chances of getting her hands on a salmon wellington were dwindling. Zelda cast a glance at the others in line: the man at the cashier was rattling off an order for a custom sandwich, so that left four people to two pastries. She bounced a little on her toes as she waited.

As if to punish her for her impatience, the next person who stepped in front of the cashier picked one of the salmon pastries from the cabinet. She let out a huff of annoyance.

The man in front of her in line gave her a look over his shoulder, his blue eyes flashing with amusement at her obvious agitation. Zelda took a step back, suddenly aware that, in her eagerness to keep an eye on the pastries in the cabinet, she’d moved into the personal space of the person in front of her. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and avoided his eyes, choosing to assess the line slowly building behind her.

It was unsurprising that the small café was packed; it had a loyal following for its traditional Rito flavours and appeared in more than one guidebook for Rito Village. But, most importantly, it was just two blocks from the Vah Medoh convention hall, where over two thousand archaeologists and researchers were currently gathering for the largest annual conference for the field. It was only a quarter past eleven, but the line of customers bearing nametags snaking to the door proved to Zelda that several of her fellow archaeologists had also opted for a bite to eat close to the conference.

“Looks like the cat’s out of the bag, huh?” A man’s voice startled her out of her observations. “This is no longer the best kept secret in Rito Village.”

She turned. The man in line in front of her shot her a smile, his clear blue eyes warm and friendly. “Or maybe…” he pursed his lips as he thought, “maybe the bird’s flown the coop?”

Zelda gave him a wry smile. “Very funny. Rito restaurant, bird saying.”

The man laughed. “I thought it was pretty good.” He glanced down at the name tag hanging around her neck. “So you’re in town for the conference too?”

“Yeah,” she held up the program she’d spent the morning leafing through, “I thought I would double check what sessions and workshops I’m attending while enjoying one of Genli’s famous salmon wellingtons.”

The man nodded. “A good choice.”

“Next!” The cashier’s voice trilled.

The man gave her another smile before making his way to the cashier.

“I’ll have a bagel lox and a coffee.” She heard him tell the cashier. Then he turned and locked eyes with her over his shoulder before saying, “And I’ll have the last salmon wellington.”

Zelda’s mouth dropped open at the audacity. “You—”

“Relax, Princess,” he said with a laugh. “It’s for you. Now what would you like to drink?”

“Oh no, that won’t be necessary. I can get my own lunch.”

“Come on now, I’ve got a sweet per diem and I gotta use it or lose it.” At her hesitance, he pushed a little harder. “You’re holding up the line.”

Zelda wanted to frown and tell him that it was _him_ that was holding up the line, not her. But his smile was charming and warm and there was something familiar about his sandy blonde hair and easy demeanor that she didn’t want to reject.

“I’ll get the coffees,” she told him.

His expression brightened. “Alright. I’ll have the bagel lox and the salmon wellington and she’ll get the two coffees,” he said to the Rito cashier, who punched the order in, unamused by his antics.

Five minutes later, they set their respective lunches down on one of the small tables inside the café. Spring was around the corner, but the Hebra chill had not yet left the city, making patio dining a daydream for the future.

“I’m Link, by the way,” the man said as he slid into one of the seats. “Can’t believe I forgot to say that before I bought you lunch.”

She blinked. “Zelda.”

“Zelda,” he repeated, his tone honey smooth. He offered her his hand. “A pleasure.”

She shook his hand, unreasonably aware of the energy that seemed to ripple from his skin. His hands were calloused, but his handshake was firm and confident. He held her gaze with a knowing look, as if he could feel everything that she was feeling. She dropped his hand.

“I’m not going to be particularly good company for lunch. I’m headed back to the convention center in…” She glanced at her watch. “Fifteen minutes or so.”

“That’s okay.” Link picked up his bagel. “I’ll just enjoy my lunch.”

Zelda’s eyes flickered to his momentarily, before she forced herself to look down at the program. She cut into the salmon wellington with her fork as she flipped through the pages, dog-earing the pages with information about relevant sessions. She could feel Link’s eyes on her as she worked.

“So are you presenting at the conference?” Link asked when she paused in her work to focus on her food.

“I am,” she said with a sigh, letting the program flutter shut. “My team and I are presenting some preliminary results of an excavation we’ve been working on for years.”

“That’s a big deal. Why don’t you sound more excited?”

Zelda frowned as she took a sip of her coffee. “Well, they scheduled our symposium for the evening session tomorrow.”

He raised a brow. “What’s the problem?”

She looked at him speculatively. “You don’t conference much, do you?” He shook his head, so she continued. “Day two of the conference is when everyone has arrived, so the evening of day two is the time for annual reunion dinners. Archaeologists who work all over the country are finally gathered in one place and can catch up with people they see just once a year.” She blew some hair out of her face. “The turn out to our symposium will be abysmal.”

“Sorry to hear that,” Link said. “But I’m sure you’ll be great.”

Zelda gave him a small smile and shrugged. “Thanks.”

He held her gaze for a beat and she could feel her cheeks warming before he turned back to his bagel.

“At any rate,” she said, wiping her mouth of crumbs, “I have to get back to the conference. Thank you for lunch.”

“Anytime,” he told her with another smile. “Thank you for your company.”

As she made her way out of the café, she glanced back at Link, still seated at their table. When their eyes met, he gave her a cheesy double thumbs up and she rolled her eyes in response, a small smile still on her lips. The walk back to the convention center was brisk and a little chilly, but she couldn’t help but remember Link’s warm hands and warm smile.

* * *

It turned out that Zelda needn’t have worried after all. Despite the disappointing schedule, the word got out about their presentation of preliminary findings at Noya Neha, the Ancient Sheikah site, and they had managed to amass a steadily growing audience.

“See?” Purah, one of the Zelda’s co-collaborators at the site whisper-shouted, “We didn’t have to worry about attendance after all. You put it out there that we’re _finally_ publishing about Noya Neha and the people flock to us! They’ve been waiting.”

Zelda had to admit that there had always been interest from fellow researchers and the public alike on the Ancient Sheikah ruins. Many Hylians saw the impressive Ancient Sheikah technologies of the past as shared heritage of sorts and a goal to drive the future to.

“Besides,” Robbie, the third co-collaborator on the project, interjected, “we found that beautiful cache of guardian parts. They’ll eat that up. Who said archaeology isn’t sexy?” He said, with a wink and a shimmy.

“Yes. I’m sure the audience is here for the sexy guardian parts,” Purah replied sarcastically. “Now take your sunglasses off, we’re not at the beach.”

Zelda didn’t respond and extricated herself from the conversation as she heard Robbie say something in protest. Instead, she glanced at the time, five minutes before the start of the symposium, and flipped through her meticulously organized cue cards. She was officially the chair of the symposium and was tasked with keeping everyone on time.

She stood, too nervous to sit, and tapped her feet as she watched the last of the audience make their way into the room. She recognized a few faces: Parcy, the historic era researcher of Royal Guard armaments and Pikango, whose life’s work was deciphering the runes of Ancient Sheikah ruins, among them. Some of her graduate school friends had found a cluster of seats together near the back of the room—Riju sported a giant smile as she waved at Zelda enthusiastically. But a few attendees made her nervous: Rotana, the researcher who’d headed every excavation out at the Seven Sisters Gerudo sites sat near the front, with a small notepad in hand. Zelda hoped that she could impress Rotana enough to open avenues for future collaborations.

As her eyes slid away from Rotana, movement at the door caught her attention—a shock of dark blonde hair and a gleam of blue eyes. Link from the café. He was dressed for the conference, a crisp white button up and dark pants under a navy blazer. Their eyes met for a moment before his darted away and, even from across the room, she could see a flush creeping up his neck. She didn’t realize that he was interested in Ancient Sheikah archaeology too! She watched him surreptitiously as he made his way to an empty seat, avoiding her questioning glance.

After a moment, Purah came to stand next to Zelda. “Ready to rumble?” she asked, her red eyes gleaming with excitement and the wings of her eyeliner sharp enough to cut a man.

“Let’s do it.” Zelda exhaled slowly and made her way to the lectern.

“Good evening, everyone,” she greeted the audience with a smile. “Thank you for being here tonight. I know that conference evenings are a rare commodity, so I’m grateful you’re choosing to spend it with us. We’re really excited to present the results of our excavations at Noya Neha. It might not be as exciting as the RPA’s happy hour, but hopefully it’ll come pretty close.”

The audience laughed and Zelda felt her nerves settle.

Zelda introduced the site, its long history of excavation, and its importance to the field of archaeology. Her collaborators nodded enthusiastically as she spoke, their encouragement spurring her on. After her talk, the rest of the session was a blur. The full range of collaborators was on display: the site geologist went first, followed by the archaeochemist, the zooarchaeologist, and the historian. People drifted in and out in between talks, but the room was shockingly packed when Robbie wrapped up his discussion of the proposed guardian manufacturing center.

“And that is likely the power source for the Ancient Sheikah technologies!” Robbie declared, striking a pose.

Purah pinched Zelda’s arm and the two women stifled giggles as the audience ate up his antics.

“I told him to let the ridiculous rock star persona go.” Purah whispered, “He’s not Louis Leakey, no matter what he might think.”

Zelda shushed her with a smile. “His adoring fan club might say otherwise.”

Purah rolled her eyes as she stood, “Do not encourage him.”

Behind the lectern, Robbie thanked the audience for their attention before Purah rushed him off to his seat. As Purah pulled up the presentation slides and began the final talk of the session, Zelda could feel her shoulders relax. The symposium had gone without a hitch. People _wanted_ to know about the work they were doing. The last few years were not spent in vain after all.

Zelda took to the lectern after Purah’s talk to thank everyone again, dizzy with relief. The audience applauded as she smiled gratefully. As she looked out at the crowd, she met Link’s piercing gaze. His lips lifted in a smile and he flashed her another corny double thumbs up. She looked away, the tips of her ears inexplicably warm as she shuffled her notes. The audience members slowly filed out of the room as she and her team packed up. A few attendees hung around, asking questions and exchanging contact information.

When the last of the questions were answered, Riju bounded up to Zelda and wrapped her up in an enthusiastic hug. “That was amazing!” she exclaimed.

Over the top of her friend’s head, Zelda could see that the room had completely emptied. For a brief moment, she was disappointed that Link had not stuck around to chat. She glanced down at Riju. “I’m just glad everything went smoothly,” she said.

“More than smoothly! I’ll bet you’ll have people asking about a special issue. How’s _that_ for a tenure portfolio?”

Zelda groaned and rubbed her temples. “I can’t even think about that yet. The symposium just ended! I need a glass of wine first.”

Seemingly out of nowhere, Purah popped up. “Did someone say wine?”

“Wine?” Robbie materialized.

“I swear to Hylia, the mere suggestion of alcohol will summon the two of you to the ends of the world.” Zelda said.

“Come on now.” Robbie snapped his fingers. “We all deserve to celebrate now that we’re done!”

“I know just the place,” Purah said. “The Hylian Parks Foundation is hosting a wine and cheese event at the Swallow’s Roost.”

“The Hylian Parks Foundation? I haven’t worked with them since we did the emergency excavation at Hyrule National Park.” Zelda frowned. “I’m not sure we qualify to attend their event.”

“Nonsense.” Purah dismissed her concerns as she and Riju led Zelda out of the room. “We know Daruk and he’d be more than happy to see us.”

“Besides,” Robbie’s (ridiculous) sunglasses glinted under the hallway lights, “how can you say no to free wine?”

Purah elbowed him. “It’s not about the free wine, we’re going to show our support for the hard work of conserving the natural and cultural history of Hyrule.”

Riju giggled. “Of course, the free wine doesn’t hurt.”

Zelda looked at her friends with a fond smile and shook her head. “Alright. Let’s go support conservation in the name of wine.”

* * *

The hotel bar was buzzing. It seemed that her motley crew was not the only group enticed to the event by the promise of free wine. People milled about, their conference name tags still slung around their necks.

Zelda and her group had found a small booth by the bar. They’d managed to squeeze the four of them into a booth meant for two and the small table was slowly accumulating empty plates. Robbie had insisted on ordering appetizers.

“He gets one HSF grant and thinks he’s rolling in it now.” Purah snickered as she popped a fry into her mouth.

“Hey!” Robbie protested through a mouthful of flatbread. “It’s about the _momentum."_

Riju had hung around for a few drinks, but bid them a goodnight early, as she had an early morning poster session to attend.

“It runs for like two and a half hours.” She pouted. “I have to stand in my stupid heels for two and a half hours and _maybe_ five people will speak to me.”

Zelda laughed as she kissed her friend’s cheek. “I’ll come by,” she promised.

By eleven o’clock, the crowds were thinning, the open bar became a cash bar, and Zelda, Purah, and Robbie were tipsily debating the cladistics of pie.

“Fried chicken can be a pie,” Robbie declared.

“Fried chicken?” Purah shrieked. “I’ll go as far to say that gyozas are pies, but fried chicken is not a pie.”

The two Sheikah debated the take, ignoring Zelda as she slipped out of the booth with a giggle. She needed another glass of wine and, from the sounds of it, the other two would too.

Zelda sat down at one of the bar stools and looked for the bartender. He was busy down the bar, pouring a glass of amber liquid for a man with a familiar blonde ponytail. The man received his drink and his blue eyes flashed up to meet hers. Her inebriated brain stuttered.

Link’s cheeks flushed red. He took a sip of his drink with a grimace before making his way over to Zelda.

“I swear I’m not following you,” he said as he approached her.

“So running into each other three times in one day is just a coincidence then?”

He rubbed the back of his neck. “To be fair, it’s mostly coincidence.”

“Mostly?”

He shrugged a little helplessly.

“Were you actually interested in Ancient Sheikah technologies?” she asked suspiciously.

“Yes! Well. Okay. So.” He sat down next to her. “I went to your session because you were worried that nobody would show up. And then when I got there, the room was nearly packed, so I was just going to stay to hear your talk. But then I sat down between two people who stayed the whole time and I didn’t know what the rules were about leaving.” He glanced at her incredulous expression. “And—and the research was cool! It was!”

“You…you came to the symposium because I was worried nobody would show up?”

“I—” He set his drink down and scrubbed his hands down his face. “I’m coming on too strong here, aren’t I?”

Zelda pursed her lips as she considered him. “Yes,” she told him.

He winced.

“But…” she continued. “That’s kind of sweet of you.”

Link’s expression brightened as he turned to face her.

“How’d you find my session anyway?” she asked.

“Well, uh, you told me when your symposium was scheduled and I knew your name.” She opened her mouth and he continued hurriedly. “I looked at your nametag.”

“And then you followed us here?”

“No!” He looked horrified by the idea. “I had no idea you would be here. I’m with the Parks Foundation. We hosted the event.”

“Oh.” It was her turn to feel embarrassed. “Yeah, so we’re not _technically_ part—”

Link waved her off. “Don’t worry about it. We anticipate it anyway.” He flashed her a crooked smile. “Academics, you know.”

She had the decency to blush. “Yeah.”

There was a moment of silence as Zelda wrapped her slightly fuzzy mind around it all. She leaned against the bar as she unsubtly assessed Link. In truth, she was more than a little flattered by his thoughtfulness. It didn’t hurt that he was unquestionably handsome: his striking blue eyes, messy ponytail, and those _hands._ He’d ditched the blazer somewhere and now had the sleeves of his white button up rolled up to his elbows. The muscles of his forearms were well defined, his hands strong. Unbidden, she imagined those hands in her hair, gripping her hips—

She looked away and cleared her throat, suddenly thirsty.

“Can I buy you a drink?” Link asked. “I think I owe you one, after all that.”

Zelda couldn’t help but laugh. “You don’t. But I’ll take you up on it.”

Together, they waved down the bartender and ordered her another glass of wine. They stayed at the bar, words flowing easily between them.

“So what do you fancy academics talk about over drinks?” he asked her, nudging her knee with his playfully.

Even the brief touch of their knees was thrilling. “What do you think we talk about?”

“I dunno. How to cure cancer? Achieve world peace?”

Zelda pressed her hand to her lips to suppress a ridiculous giggle. “First of all, we’re not that kind of doctor, we wouldn’t be curing cancer anyway.” She studied him over her glass of Sheikah Red. “Secondly, we were talking about the cladistics of pie.”

He raised a brow. “Cladistics of pie?”

“You know,” she gestured vaguely, “you have pies in pie tins, right? But there are hand pies. And then, if you think about it, gyozas and perogies are tiny hand pies. So where’s the line?”

His laugh was soft, but laced with amusement. “So this is the life changing discussions of world famous researchers, huh?”

 _"Tipsy,_ world famous researchers,” she corrected him, wine warm in her blood as it heated her cheeks.

They smiled at each other for a moment, eyes twinkling mirthfully, before looking away.

The television monitor over the bar was playing a sport center recap, but with the sound off, so the two of them made up their own commentary for the hockey brawl that was being covered. Link, she found out, had a quietly sharp sense of humor. She also learned that he was a conservationist with the Hylian Parks Foundation and he was at his first archaeology conference to discuss the results of his team’s new outreach project.

“I’m usually either out in the wilderness collecting data or I’m in various classrooms working with kids,” he told her, tugging on the collar of his dress shirt. “So this buttoned up conference thing is really out of my depth.”

“You pull it off fine,” she said, laying a hand on his arm.

His gaze was sharp, despite the alcohol. “Thanks,” he murmured.

Zelda smiled and shrugged, not sure who this bold, flirtatious woman was, but something about Link made it easy. The way he looked at her made her feel confident and powerful, like she could do anything.

It was hard to keep track of how much time was passing. The two of them drew closer and closer together; moving their stools so that their shoulders were pressed together and if she turned, she could slip her knee between his. He made another ridiculous pun about rocks and she laughed, swatting his chest with her hand.

He was warm and sturdy under her palm and when she looked up at him, the mirth in his eyes faded into something else. She licked her lips and his eyes flickered down to track the motion. When their eyes met again, there was a hunger in his expression. Zelda felt her body warm in anticipation. He watched her steadily. She leaned in, sliding fully into the space between his thighs. She watched the bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed.

“Zelda,” his voice was husky, the low timbre dancing across her nerves, “can I kiss you?”

“Yes,” she breathed.

He moved closer, sliding his palm across her lower back. The buzz of the bar seemed to fade away as she breathed him in, an intoxicating combination of sandalwood and citrus. His eyes were fixed on her, his pupils dilated. Sensing his hesitation, she leaned up on her toes and pressed her lips to his.

He responded immediately, the press of his mouth warm and somehow familiar. She darted her tongue forward and licked his bottom lip. He responded with a muffled groan, his mouth opening to hers.

She wanted him even closer. Reaching one arm over his shoulder, she tangled her fingers in his hair to draw him in. She slanted her mouth over his and their tongues moved together. He cupped the back of her head with one hand and gripped her hip tightly with the other. Even through the fabric of her shirt, his touch was electric, excitement and desire pooling in her lower belly.

She drew away. “Wait,” she said, struggling to catch her breath.

“What’s wrong?” His eyes were half lidded and still watching her lips.

“Do you—” 

“There you are!” Purah’s voice sliced through the moment.

Zelda twisted away from Link, a frustrated growl on her lips. “What?”

Purah had Robbie’s arm slung around her shoulders. He had his sunglasses back on again, for whatever reason, and seemed to be mumbling to himself. Purah’s expression changed as she realized she’d interrupted Zelda, her mouth forming a perfect ‘o’ and her eyes widening with surprise.

“Whoopsies. Was just wondering where you went! Robbie’s fully sloshed, so someone has to make sure he gets back to his hotel safely.” Purah indiscreetly checked Link out and gave Zelda the most conspicuous wink in the world. “We won’t wait for you.”

“Thanks.”

“Okie dokes. We’re heading out. Don’t have _too_ much fun now!” Purah called out over her shoulder.

The two of them stumbled out of the hotel bar. Zelda and Link watched them go.

After a moment, they turned back to each other. The amused glint in Link’s eye was too much and she cracked up, one hand covering her mouth as the other rested against his chest. He joined in half a second later.

When her laughter died down, she turned to him. “Sorry about them,” she said. “But um…” She summoned her boldness from earlier and tangled her fingers with his. “Do you want to get out of here?”

He nodded wordlessly. His gaze smoldering again as he brought their joined hands up to his lips, pressing a searing kiss to her knuckles.

Zelda had to suppress a full body shiver as she waved down the bartender to close their tab.

* * *

Zelda found herself pressed against the door of her hotel room; her mind faintly registered the whirl of the lock clicking shut behind her. Link was on her at once, trailing searing kisses across her jaw, her neck, her collarbones exposed by her partially unbuttoned top. Her fingers anchored in his hair and her breathy words of encouragement urged him on.

The LoftWing ride from the bar to her hotel had been nearly unbearable.

The driver was friendly and chatty, droning on about local landmarks and restaurants when he found out they were visiting for the conference. But Zelda could barely pay attention to anything but the warm palm Link had rested on her thigh. She was already having trouble coming up with appropriate responses to the driver’s commentary, but when Link began rubbing his thumb in soft circles, she gave up all together.

When they pulled up to her hotel, she threw the door open and scrambled out. Link hesitated for a moment, the heat in his eyes giving way to a clear question. _Are you sure?_

Zelda caught herself. Was she sure? She’d never done anything like this before. She’d heard tell of conference romances, but always figured that wasn’t for someone like her. She was a professional! What if something went wrong? It would be a terrible idea to strain a potential professional relationship like that!

But Link was…something else. Their physical connection was palpable: his kiss made her ache for more and his hand on her thigh was enough to drive her wild with want. And besides, she reasoned, he wasn’t actually in her field and this could be a one-time thing. No need to make it complicated.

So she nodded and tugged Link out of the car behind her. And ended up here: pressed against the door, getting the very breath in her lungs kissed out of her.

Link’s mouth moved hungrily against hers as his fingers worked quickly to unbutton her blouse. His lips chased the exposed skin, blazing a trail down her front as his deft fingers undid her bra behind her. He palmed her breasts and she couldn’t help her embarrassingly breathy noises. He took one of her nipples into his mouth and tweaked the other with teasing fingers. Zelda barely recognized the whine that she let out. She could feel his smile against her skin.

As much as the idea of being taken up against the door was appealing, the giant hotel bed was but a few steps away, so she pushed him towards it, shedding her top as they went.

Even though the room was lit only by the streetlight filtering through the window, his eyes gleamed as he took her in. He tugged his dress shirt over his head in a smooth motion, exposing a slim, but well-built physique. But he gave her no time to admire him as he pulled her to him, sending the two of them tumbling onto the bed.

Zelda stifled a laugh at his urgency, but that turned into a moan as he set himself against her, capturing her lips and rocking their hips together, so that she could feel the length of him against her thigh. Impatiently, she reached down to undo her pants and he helped her slide both her pants and her panties off.

He slid his fingers between her legs, dropping open mouthed kisses against her neck, shoulders, chest as she gasped. Her hands gripped tightly against his biceps, her eyes fluttering shut as she ground into his hands.

“Zelda.” His breath was hot and damp against her skin and his voice was strained. “Goddesses, you’re so—”

Whatever he was trying to say was lost as she pushed him onto his back. With confidence born from the excitement of the moment, she climbed atop him to straddle his hips. His gaze was reverent and mouth slightly slack as he took her in.

“You’re overdressed,” she told him, moving to unbutton his pants.

“Am I?” he responded wryly as he lifted his hips to shuck his pants down his thighs.

“Do you have a condom?” she asked, slipping her fingers under the waistband of his boxers.

She tugged his boxers down, baring him to her. His eyes were hazy with want as he said, “Wallet. Back pocket.”

Zelda leaned behind her to search through his half-discarded pants. The task was harder than anticipated, because the feeling of him moving under her was driving her to distraction. She somehow managed to find his wallet even with his hands caressing her chest.

“Mm.” She rifled through his wallet. “Someone came prepared.”

“I—I just have that. I wasn’t—”

She tore the wrapper open with a soft laugh. “It’s not a bad thing.”

His eyes were hyper focused on her as she rose to her knees and rolled the condom down. She met his gaze, biting her lip as she lowered herself onto him, taking him in. They exhaled in unison. She canted her hips forward, adjusting to how he felt fully sheathed within her. A soft moan escaped her lips. His hands kneaded her waist and he let out a shuddering breath.

She leaned forward and kissed him, their lips, tongues, and teeth meeting with a clash of urgency and need. She ground her hips down against his, swallowing his responding groan. He sat up, pulling her forward so that he could set himself against the headboard.

Link’s hands were everywhere: his nimble fingers teased her nipples, his strong grip on her hips encouraged her to move. His lips latched onto her pulse point as he reached between their bodies and stroked her clit with fast, hard motions. She rocked into him, panting, the sensations overwhelming.

It didn’t take long before she gasped into his ear, “—close, I’m—”

He focused his efforts against her clit, synchronizing the action with his thrusts. The steady action tipped Zelda over the edge and she dug her fingers into his back, muffling her moans into his neck as she came. She could taste the salt of his sweat. He followed quickly after, a soft groan against her collarbone and his harsh exhales dancing across her breasts.

They stayed like that for a moment, catching their breath and letting their racing heartbeats slow. Her limbs, still wrapped around him, slackened slightly as she relaxed against him.

 _Holy shit,_ Zelda thought.

“Holy shit,” Link said.

* * *

The creepy robot chanting of Deku Punk’s _Technologic_ cut through the morning silence.

Zelda groaned, flailing her arm to the side table in a halfhearted effort to find her phone. After a moment, the ringing stopped, so she gave up and snuggled deeper into the bed. She rolled over to her other side and remembered with a start that she wasn’t alone.

Her eyes flew open to find Link still sleeping. His chest rose and fell evenly with his breath. He was just as handsome this morning as he had been the night before. Zelda resisted the urge to trace her fingers across his features. It felt too intimate for someone she didn’t know, despite their recent activities.

She paused, suddenly unsure of what to do. She hadn’t really planned for this part. Didn’t really have experience dealing with the day after. Should she leave? No, that’s ridiculous, they were in her hotel room. Should she wake him? And say what?

The decision was made for her as her phone started ringing again.

_Buy it, use it, break it, fix it, trash it, change it, mail it, upgrade it._

Zelda cursed as she slid out of bed and rooted around the floor for her phone. By the time she picked it up, it was silent again. Damn Purah and her stupid ringtone.

A shift in the sheets drew Zelda’s attention back to the bed. Link stretched as he blinked the drowsiness from his eyes.

“Morning,” he murmured, his voice hoarse with sleep.

Zelda felt herself flush, the sound of his voice bringing back memories of their night. They only had two condoms between the two of them, but they’d been creative enough with their hands and mouths to stay occupied for hours. The thought of what Link could do with his mouth made her clench her thighs together. The hem of his undershirt that she’d pulled on at some point last night rode up a little.

She cleared her throat. “Good morning.”

Her phone started up again. _Buy it, use it—_

She shot Link an apologetic look before turning around. “What?” she hissed into the phone.

“So!?” Purah’s excited shriek was so loud Zelda had to pull her phone from her ear. “How did it go with blonde and handsome?”

Zelda wanted to strangle her. “If it was going well,” she replied, her voice clipped, “wouldn’t a call right now be a bad idea?”

“Oooh.” Purah’s tone was knowing. “Sorry you didn’t get laid last night.”

“I did.”

“Oh. Oh shi—”

Zelda hung up.

She turned around slowly. Link was still in bed, the covers pooled around his waist as he smiled at her. He really had no right looking so charming this early in the morning.

“Sorry about that.”

He laughed lightly. “It’s okay.”

They looked at each other from across the room for a beat.

She let out a frazzled laugh. “Look, Link, I’m not sure what to do here. I’ve never actually done this before and I didn’t really have a plan...” She trailed off, tugging the hem of his shirt down to cover more of her legs.

“Zelda.” His voice was warm and she felt the absurd urge to jump back into bed with him. “I don’t have a plan either but...I like you and last night was incredible so…” He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “How about breakfast?”

“O-oh!” Her voice squeaked a little. “I can’t. I promised Riju—I promised my friend I’d go to her poster session this morning.”

“Oh.” His expression fell.

She responded hurriedly, “But—”

But what, exactly? Didn’t she tell herself that this was going to be a one time thing? The attraction was there and she wanted to let loose for once. That was that. The sensible thing to do was probably to say goodbye, leave things where they stood, but there was something about him that made her want to stay. She thought about his quiet wit and charming smile. It certainly didn’t hurt that he’d single handedly been responsible for more orgasms than she’d had in months. She bit her lip.

“But I’m free after that, if you’d like to get brunch,” she said.

His face brightened. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

They smiled at each other for a moment.

“Now, I’d hate to rush you, but…”

Link chuckled. “Early morning poster session?”

She made her way over to him, slipped off his undershirt, and handed it to him with a kiss to his cheek. “Unfortunately so.”

They dressed quickly and in a comfortable silence.

“Say…” Link glanced over at her as he finished buttoning up his shirt. “Have you ever been up to Warbler’s Nest?”

She shook her head. “I got in two days ago and have been prepping for the symposium the whole time.”

“I could take you after brunch if you’d like. The way the sound echoes out there is incredible.” He looked nervous, as if, after all that, he was worried she’d say no. “You know, I know the area pretty well, I did a six month co-op placement out here a few years back. I could...show you around town a bit while we’re here?”

“I…” Her hands paused on the buttons of her own shirt. “I’d like that.” 

He beamed at her, his expression so contagious she couldn’t help but return it. “There’s a great little dessert place out by Warbler’s Nest. I actually helped invent a menu item there, we could stop on our way back.”

Zelda looked at him, not sure if he was serious. “I’m starting to realize that I know next to nothing about you,” she told him.

He shot her a devastating smirk. “You’ve got four more days of the conference to find out.”

An unexpected burst of laughter bubbled forth and she could feel her cheeks heat up. But with the way he was looking at her, she found that she didn’t mind one bit.

As they made their way out the door, Zelda could feel the warmth of Link’s hand on her lower back. At the doorway, he turned and pulled her towards him, dropping a light, chaste kiss to her lips. His lips were soft, velvet and warm. He pulled back with a smile.

 _Four more days,_ she thought as she studied the lines of his face, _a lot could change in four days._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading; I would love to hear your thoughts!! You can also come say hi on Tumblr, I'm [BhujerbanWrites](https://bhujerbanwrites.tumblr.com/). You can read my extended author's note (and about the incident that inspired this fic) there too!


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